Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just wanted to preface my comments to Mr. Blais. He knows very well that all parties, with the exception of a few parliamentarians, or at least that's what we thought anyway, generally support our traditional seal harvest.
My concern with the wording of the motion is that while I agree in principle with bringing this forward and I certainly don't have trouble supporting it, I'm just wondering sometimes if some of the things you try to do are better left undone. And I'll preface it like this. I think the public opinion campaign in Europe has already been won by the abolitionists. I would argue that it would probably be in Canada's seal harvesters' best interests if we didn't try to provoke that sentiment any further, but rather focus our activities on the diplomatic channels that are available through intergovernmental relations through things such as World Trade Organization agreements, by challenging the very principles of the European Union, which seeks to only bring about change within its own territory, not to influence actions of other governments outside its jurisdiction.
All these things are very valid approaches. I just think that the Government of Canada investing heavily in a public education campaign off our shores might be more harmful than helpful.